The 404 Media Podcast

404 Media
  • 4.8 (389)
  • TECH NEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats. Subscribe to 404 Media at 404media.co to gain access to an ad-free version of this podcast, as well as a bonus podcast episodes. Subscribers are the bedrock of building a sustainable business for our journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 2D AGO

    Here’s What Palantir Is Really Building

    We start this week with Joseph’s article about ELITE, a tool Palantir is working on for ICE. After the break, Emanuel tells us how AI influencers are making fake sex tape-style photos with celebrities, who can’t be best pleased about it. In the subscribers-only section, Matthew breaks down Comic-Con’s ban of AI art. 0:00 - Intro 2:16 - ‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid 22:45 - Instagram AI Influencers Are Defaming Celebrities With Sex Scandals Subscriber's Story: Comic-Con Bans AI Art After Artist Pushback YouTube version: https://youtu.be/b-QHWpqjD-E Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    45 min

  2. 4D AGO

    How Wikipedia Will Survive in the Age of AI (With Wikipedia’s CTO Selena Deckelmann)

    The Wikimedia Foundation’s chief technology and product officer explains how she helps manage one of the most visited sites in the world in the age of generative AI.  Wikipedia is turning 25 this month, and it’s never been more important.  The online, collectively created encyclopedia has been a cornerstone of the internet decades, but as generative AI started flooding every platform with AI-generated slop over the last couple of years, Wikipedia’s governance model, editing process, and dedication to citing reliable sources has emerged as one of the most reliable and resilient models we have.  And yet, as successful as the model is, it’s almost never replicated.  This week on the podcast we’re joined by Selena Deckelmann, the Chief Product and Technology Officer at the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia. That means Selena oversees the technical infrastructure and product strategy for one of the most visited sites in the world, and one the most comprehensive repositories of human knowledge ever assembled. Wikipedia is turning 25 this month, so I wanted to talk to Selena about how Wikipedia works and how it plans to continue to work in the age of generative AI.   YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/39LR9ouJR3c Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.  Wikipedia’s value in the age of generative AI The Editors Protecting Wikipedia from AI Hoaxes Wikipedia Pauses AI-Generated Summaries After Editor Backlash Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors Jimmy Wales Says Wikipedia Could Use AI. Editors Call It the 'Antithesis of Wikipedia' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min

  3. JAN 14

    The ICE Tool That Tracks Entire Neighborhoods

    We start this week with Joseph’s article about Webloc, a tool ICE bought that can monitor phones in entire neighborhoods. After the break, Emanuel and Sam talk about their recent coverage of Grok. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how police inadvertently unmasked millions of their surveillance targets through a Flock redaction error. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:50 - First Story 23:00 - Second Story YouTube version: https://youtu.be/rurJo6vPhUY Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods DHS Is Lying To You Inside the Telegram Channel Jailbreaking Grok Over and Over Again Masterful Gambit: Musk Attempts to Monetize Grok's Wave of Sexual Abuse Imagery Police Unmask Millions of Surveillance Targets Because of Flock Redaction Error Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min

  4. JAN 12

    How Benn Jordan Discovered Flock's Cameras Were Left Streaming to the Internet

    This week, Jason is talking to YouTuber Benn Jordan, who has done some of our favorite reporting on Flock, the automated license plate reader surveillance company. A couple months ago, he found vulnerabilities in some of Flock’s license plate reader cameras. I have been following Benn’s work for a while, and soon after that video came out, he reached out to me to tell me he had learned that some of Flock’s Condor cameras were left live-streaming to the open internet. In this episode, we discuss how he discovered the issue and what happened next. YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/tSd0nXolnIs Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    39 min

  5. JAN 7

    The People Tracking America's AI Data Centers

    We start this week with Matthew’s story about an organization tracking the location of AI data centers around the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. After the break, Jason tells us all about what Grok got up to over the holiday break, and we ruminate on what the breakdown in the information ecosystem means. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about how we bought 404media.com! Timestamps: 1:38 - Researchers Are Hunting America for Hidden Datacenters 25:58 - Grok's AI CSAM Shitshow Subscriber's Story: We Bought 404media.com YouTube version: https://youtu.be/zT9lEyHnZIk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    51 min

  6. JAN 5

    REPLAY: Pornhub Exec Alexzandra Kekesi Discusses Pulling Out of the South, Trad Wives, and Feet Pics

    On this special guest episode of the 404 Media Podcast, Sam talks to Alexzandra Kekesi, VP of Brand and Community at Pornhub. Kekesi started in her current role in August 2023, after working for Pornhub and its parent company for more than a decade. She joined us from Montreal, where Pornhub is headquartered. They discuss the stigma facing the adult industry, Luigi Mangione porn, the trad wife to feet pics pipeline, and algorithms that shut you down for showing side boob. Kekesi also breaks down Pornhub’s choice to pull out of states in more than a third of the U.S., following regressive age verification laws. Pornhub Sees Surge of Interest in Tradwife Content, ‘Modesty,’ and Mindfulness Pornhub Is Now Blocked In Almost All of the U.S. South Age Verification Laws Drag Us Back to the Dark Ages of the Internet Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    57 min

  7. 12/31/2025

    REPLAY: Signal's Meredith Whittaker on Backdoors and AI

    This is a special interview episode with Meredith Whittaker, the president of the Signal Foundation. I'm sure you all know, and maybe even use, the Signal messaging app. Here we sat down with Whittaker to talk all about the state of Signal today, the threat of AI to end-to-end encryption, what backdoors actually look like, and much more. This is a wide-ranging discussion where one of the few journalists who has revealed new details about backdoors (Joseph) gets to speak to one of the most important people in the world of encryption (Whittaker). Definitely take a listen. Paid subscribers got access to this episode early by the way. YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/kconAXZgsxg Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever Signal page on government data requests Microsoft Will Switch Off Recall by Default After Security Backlash Telegram CEO Pavel Durov interview Subscribe at 404media.co for early access and bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    49 min

  8. 12/29/2025

    The Shifting World of OSINT (with Craig Silverman)

    Joseph speaks to Craig Silverman, one of the co-founders of Indicator. Indicator is a new, independent media company that Craig runs with Alexios Mantzarlis. For years Craig has covered the world of ad fraud and disinformation using all sorts of open source intelligence (OSINT) techniques. Definitely check out Indicator at Indicator.media. The site publishes its own investigations but also tips and tricks you can use yourself. Indicator’s site: https://indicator.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    46 min
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4.8
out of 5
389 Ratings

About

Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats. Subscribe to 404 Media at 404media.co to gain access to an ad-free version of this podcast, as well as a bonus podcast episodes. Subscribers are the bedrock of building a sustainable business for our journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    404 Media
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    151
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 404 Media
  • Show Website
    The 404 Media Podcast

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